


2011

by cara797



Series: A Traveller's Home [3]
Category: Glue (TV), e4Glue
Genre: Future Angst, Kinda, M/M, mainly fluff, relationship: get together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2685392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cara797/pseuds/cara797
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gang has a sleepover at Tina's and everyone loves cuddling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	2011

**Author's Note:**

> _A TRAVELLER'S HOME_ series:
> 
>   * Part 1: [2009](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2469122/chapters/5475536)
>   * Part 2: [2010](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2494409/chapters/5536556)
> 

> 
> ♦ Part 3: 2011
> 
>   * Part 4: 2012
>   * Part 5: 2013
>   * Part 6: 2014
> 

> 
> As always, kudos to Lottie and a huge thank you to everyone who's read and commented!

It didn't surprise anybody when Tina's mum said yes to a sleepover as long as the girls stayed in Tina's room and the boys slept downstairs in the living room. After all, not even she was so naïve as to believe Tina and Rob were "just friends", especially after she caught them making out in a not so innocent fashion twice.

It didn't surprise anyone either when Rob got out of his sleeping bag well past midnight and stepped on Eli, making him grunt in pain and everyone else stir at the noise. Rob hushed them hurriedly, and they meekly fell back asleep as the dark-skinned boy sneaked upstairs on his tiptoes, cringing at every creaky sound the old floor made under his feet.

A little while later, a very grumpy Ruth and a stumbling Annie showed up in the living room, Annie, though the sleepier, was the first one to figure out that the couch Rob had been occupying was vacant now and made a run for it. Ruth turned her head at the sudden movement just in time to see the blonde girl sink into the couch. She sighed and nudged with her feet at the three fast asleep boys scattered on the floor to make some room for her. After stealing a cushion from Annie in bitter retaliation, she finally lay down between Eli and Cal, deeming that was the only space big enough for her in the tiny room.  
She tried pulling at the blanket the younger boy had draped around his shoulders but Cal was holding it firmly, even though the light snoring made it obvious he was deeply gone.

Behind her, and startling her to the brink of a heart attack, Eli whispered in a hoarse voice: "Don't go near him, the little shit is a kicker", the gypsy girl turned her head slightly to look at him. He could barely keep his eyes open, but in the dark room, she found his face was unguarded and honest and she grudgingly accepted Eli's heavy blanket and covered herself with it. Under it, she could feel Eli's warmth and she tried to focus on it to stop her teeth from chattering.

If Eli was expecting a "thank you", he didn't say a thing about it when Ruth stayed silent.

She wondered how he felt about Rob and Tina being together now. In fact, not only together, but all over each other, all the time.

It was tiring, for her at least. She was the one Tina used to spend her entire days with, now she was too busy skipping classes with Rob, or hanging out with Rob or messing around with Rob. Ruth would be lying if she said it didn't annoy her.

She could tell Annie and James also felt left out, robbed of their friends, but they wouldn't dare say anything to them. Ruth wouldn't either, but it was different for her. She _knew_ Rob and Tina would eventually break up, she'd given them two months, maybe three before Tina realised how much of a waste of time Rob was, and then she would go back to Ruth and hopefully things would be too awkward for the whole gang to go out together and they'd get rid of Rob, and probably James, too.

Ruth wondered if the Bray brothers would stick around if the group fell out. She could imagine Cal doing so, only because he and Tina were thick as thieves these days. And he and James were closer now. Seeing them together reminded Ruth of an excited puppy and a little child fussing about, and they both swapped roles continuosly.

But not Eli, he was starting to drift away already, sometimes brushing them off in favour of staying at the stables and working extra hours. He was the oldest of them all, and Ruth could tell he was getting sick of the bloody kids the rest of them still were. Ruth could identify with that. She felt like she couldn't take another stupid "that's what she said" joke.

The warmth from the wool blanket and Eli's body was lulling her to sleep and as she did with everything in her life she hadn't chosen herself, she fought against that force, out of sheer habit, only to finally give up and surrender to the comforting feeling of unconsciousness.

Cal shifting restlessly beside her was what woke her up the first time. She shrunk away and moved closer to his older brother, vaguely remembering Eli's warning. Right before she fell back into a light slumber, she heard Cal's voice mumbling something and she opened her eyes, blinking several times until they focused. 

What she found in front of her almost made her snort. James had completely turned around at same point and was now facing Cal, a loose arm wrapped around his middle. Cal was still mumbling things, and only after a moment did Ruth realize he was sleep-talking.

He was also trying to push James away, his hand on James' face and he was pushing it back and away rather roughly. He was repeating again and again "Eli...too hot...get off...Eli...fucking...off" he groaned, puffed and shoved James away a bit more. James was absolutely oblivious to everything, sleeping like a log, and then suddenly, Cal's breath caught. 

Cal's back was to her but Ruth had a perfect line of vision and she watched him quickly remove his hand from James' face and stay very still. By the change in his breath, that was swallower now and came in quick puffs of air, Ruth knew he had woken up.

Ruth was expecting him to resume his pushing and shoving but he didn't do anything, he just held very still, for a very long time. And Ruth thought maybe he had fallen asleep until he started shifting again, so very slowly she thought it might hurt. He moved his head upwards, towards the free arm James had carelessly stretched over his head and nicely and easily put his head on top of it, using it as a pillow and creeping up slightly closer to his chest. Ruth held her breath for a moment there when James groaned softly and frowned but he was still sleeping deeply, and his features relaxed again. 

Although she wanted to keep on watching them, her eyelids felt like they were made out of lead and she dozed off.

The next time Ruth woke up, it was to high-pitched giggles, someone hushing them and a couple of clicks that sounded a lot like a phone camera going off. She opened her eyes slowly and on seeing her, Annie couldn't hold it any longer and erupted laughing. Tina appeared in her field of vision and she was also laughing, still in her pyjamas and the yellowish light coming through the windows made her think it was still early... And what in the world were they all laughing about? She looked over at Cal and found her answer. 

Cal and James were bundled together, James drooling on top of Cal's head, his left arm was still being used as a pillow by the smaller boy, only it had curled around Cal's shoulders, driving him closer. As for the gypsy boy, he had apparently changed his mind about being too hot because he was now clutching onto James chest, head buried in his neck. And even though the traveller boy had clinged to his blanket as if his life depended on it the previous night, it had been carelessly kicked away and was now somewhere by Cal's feet. He had then presumably hauled at James' duvet until it covered both of them.

Ruth, still feeling a bit drowsy, laughed a bit at the ridiculous scene only to have Rob hover over her and take another picture. She wanted to protest but her mouth was too dry and her throat raspy, her thoughts were still veiled by heavy drops of sleep like dew covering the fields in the early mornings, her whole body slowed down by sweet warmth and numbness.

But everyone kept laughing, so she made the effort to keep her eyes open and wriggled his toes in an attempt to loosen up her tired body. And that's when she felt the heavy arm around her waist, and her hand holding another warm limb. She looked down and found out it was a hand. It was, as a matter of a fact, Eli's. It was Eli's hand. And Eli, the actual owner of the hand she had been holding for the better part of the previous night, was right behind her. Eli Bray and her were cuddling.

She had been the little spoon and in a fit of delirious slumber she had held Eli's hand and now Tina, Rob and Annie had proof of it and it would most probably end up all over Facebook, where it would haunt her for the rest of her life.

She closed her eyes and yanked her hand away from Eli's, just as the rest of them started to wake up. Eli finally woke up, took in their position and looked utterly horrified at Ruth. "Get the fuck off me!" she exclaimed, cheeks red and breath unsteady. 

Barely a feet away, a similar situation was going on with Cal and James, and Tina was recording it all in video.

A confused Cal sat up, when he felt James let go of him, and he sleepily scratched his eyes. James looked as embarrased as Ruth felt and Eli looked but Cal was all innocent eyes and groggy smiles. 

"What's going on?" he said, and his voice creaked a bit at the end of the sentence and Tina cooed and laughed while James refused to look anyone in the eyes.

Ruth didn't fall for it but she was soon distracted by Rob, who asked her behind his recording phone whether she had groped something in her sleep.


End file.
